[Trip Itinery and questions]

Hi All,

 

I am currently planning a trip to Japan, mainly for skiing but also some sight seeing this January. So far the plan is;

28th Arrive in Tokyo for 5 nights including NYE (with Friends)

2nd Travel to Hakuba for a weeks skiing (with Friends)

9th Travel to Kyoto for 4 nights (with my partner)

13th & 14th yet to decide - maybe somewhere like Osaka (with my partner)

15th Travel back to Tokyo to meet up with friends and travel up to Niseko

 

Our friends will be skiing the whole time but since my girlfriend isn't into skiing that much we thought it best to take time off in-between to see some of Japan. So my questions are;

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do on the 13th & 14th? Is it worth maybe going to Hiroshima?

 

Is there anything or anywhere I should stop or spend a night on my travels that I haven't listed?

 

Is it worth getting a rail pass? Even just a 7 day one for travel between Hakuba and Tokyo (9th-15th)

 

I added up the separate trips from Hakuba to Kyoto to Tokyo and it was approx 23000yen so not sure if it is worth paying the difference (7 day pass is 28300yen) for ease of use, (ie. dont have to buy tickets at each station and flexible to travel elsewhere like Hiroshima for extra days)

 

Regarding flights how do I go about booking. I can see that the flights from Narita to Sapporo are already full but plenty of flights from Haneda to Sapporo but how do I go about booking the Discount Air Tickets that foreigners get? The booking sites are very confusing.

 

Thanks,

 

Bernie

[NYE in Japan or wait until mid January?]

 

Thanks for all the replys. I should have mentioned that we had planned to do NYE in Tokyo and then move onto the mountains. I was worried that NYE was a bit dead in Tokyo and that everything would be closed in the days that followed, but I hadn't considered cost so that might be what sways me to delay to mid Jan. Really the only reason for NYE in Japan was something different, NYE is always more exciting when ur in another country.

[NYE in Japan or wait until mid January?]

 

Hi,

 

first post but i've been trawing this site ever since we decided on a ski trip to Japan. The current plan is a 3 week trip, 1 week of non skiing activities (non consecutive) including a few days in Tokyo, 1 week in Hakuba and 1 week in Niseko. (still to work out what order)

 

We had planned to arrive on the 28th Dec but after a bit of research it seems NYE in Japan is a non event and I have been told that Tokyo sort of shuts down during that period and all the temples are packed.

 

So now we are thinking of maybe waiting until mid Jan to go but first I wanted a bit of feedback from the people who know if they think it's worth doing NYE in Japan? Does Hakuba or Niseko have a late season or should we expect plenty of snow by then.

 

Also we have all done a couple of full seasons in Whistler (where we all met) so are also interested in riding some back country. Would it be possible to get a guide in Niseko for this sort of thing? Would anyone know what this might cost?

 

Any other info or tips would be great,

 

Thanks. JP